Rake



. W. W. LAIDLEY RAKE Filed Nov. 8, 1923 INVENTOIR I'M/Wm W1 J/OZ] ATTORNEY TOAQZZYIDILOM-"it H Be itknoWnfthatT, WILLIAM'W. LAIDLEY,

new; and "useful Tmprovements in Rakes of atente a citizen of the'UnitedStates, residing at Piedmont,.tinc the. couuty of rllameda and State fof. California, have invented .i'certam which the following is a specifications This-inventionrelatesl'to rakesand in par-- ticular. 'liOflELWIl rakes-, and .cons'ists primarily of. a device. :for a use in! ithe 1 garden" for the purposefof. clearing-the lawn; of obj sets such as I out grass, leaves and othe'r refuse that generally.-collectslvthereonf =6 A ma orobject is to construct tmsmke as light as possible and still' lm'aintain the propor weight forsconvenijentbalanceand flexure in operatiom-to overcomethefltiresome wrist strain experienced in: usingth'epresent rakes; It. is- .to be understood: that i in' confstrujcting a. rake 'of this character; that T have ex:

perimented a i-great deal' with di flerent ma terlals and methods "of construction and have finally produced 'a tool constructed-la cordance withf.frnyin vention designed tokeep the cost ofproduction; to a minimum without sacrificing strength Tori"durability. Another object of the invention is to con- 'struct a device whichimay be readily produced from stock material, such for instance, as metallic fencing of open mesh design. The stock used being preferably steel wlre of suitable resiliency and strength. Other objects. and advantages and the features of construction of the invention, willappear in the subjoinw description of the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which: I

Figure 1 is; a. plan of a rake constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention, the handle being omitted therefrom for convenience of illustration. v

Fig. 2 is a side elevation or edge view of Fi 1, and shows a portion of a handle attafiied to the rake. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective'view of a wire. crossing, andFig. d is a similar view partly in section to. show the wires, the result of spot welding)? of the Fig. 5 is a modifiedand mentary plan showing the around the frame.

enlarged frag.- wire ends bent r vantage the lacing of the wires of the fabric.

or rim/mm, armband. 1 a if iincau i and revenue sea welded or otherwise," secured the tines will substantially F 6 is an elevation of Fig. 5 and shows" Referring to the drawing and, figures A bent f-V shaped' as at 1am form the sides 2,

form forms thej base ofthe trianglerandxis spot to the sides 2 as at 5-tofmmpletethe frame?"- m a Thefbody *6 of the Take is of open wire mesh material and i's'preiferably of commer; cial en'cing carried-in stock," the wire thereof bei g of lighter gage than the frame. Said "6 "is"="composed of wires interwoven"at rightwangles toeach'other, and

form aseries of tra nsversewi'res8.

n; the, constructionf a: thsfbdy for a my rake, T preferto cut stockfyvireffencing of the characterfmentionedt a pattern of .V- re "c eamer taf hef i fl ne a the frame, andremove'certain transverse strands from the? portion of 1 "the body," then insert email-1e pm "of thebody throughthe-frame and regibter'thesamethereon and have the longitudinal" extending wires 7' under the cross-rod 4 as shown clearly in Fig. 1. And with the body so registered upon the frame,.all of the contacting wires thereon or as many welded thereto, including the longitudinal wines contacting-the under-side of the crossrod 4, thereby, the whole forms a unit which has the desired rigidity transversely therethereof: The name gr the rake ri giy is referably constructed in the form of a triang1e',- and consists of asuitable wire rod as desired, may be spot of, and a certain desired longitudinal resiliency for flexure in service, which lessens fatigue in raking to a very marked extent.

The size of the mesh selected determines thenumber of tines to the rake, and owing to the interwoven construction of the fabric always be properly 5 aced apart and held in a [rigid position, an thus will not become loose and turn in service which is common to certain rakes on the market that I am familiar with.

The longitudinally extending wires 7 have their free end turned downwardly at an "obtuse angle, as indicated at 9 Fig. 2 to An ordinar handle 11 may be secured to the rake-hea in any well-kno manner, such forexample as by me of the bolts 12 inserted through any mesh-opening 'desired. The latter feature is of importance,

form the tines 10 of the rake.

as the length of handle on the rake body Fig.3 shows a longitudinal wire Y welded; to the cross-rod 4', and in Fig. 41 have shown a sectional detail of a portion of the side 2 of the frame, and a portion. of oneo'f the transversewires 8 Fspot welded as, in: dicated at 14. This shows'how the metal fuses. This means of; fastening is 1 113- preferred} ,way as it simplifies manufacture and struc'tion and ha is merely illustrative and that such-changes reduces 'the c ost to.v a minimum. However, I donot wish to limit myself to this con- ,e therefore shown a modi- I In said figures the rod 4,-hl0ngitudin al wires ;7 andtransversezwires 8 have their ends bent aroundflandgunder the frame "as clearly shown; This may, be donewith pliersl'or a like tool, and is. considered practicjal by applicant ifthisj construction is de- From the foregoing, .descriptiontaken in connection with. the accompanying drawing, the advantagesof ,the construction and method of operation 'willbe readilyi understood :by "those skilled, in the -art to which i the invention.appe rtains, and while I have described", the. principle of ioperation,.;tou so gether with. the device which! I nowconsider to be thetb'est embodiment thereof, Idesire to have itfunderstoodthat the device. shown may be. made, i when desired, as fall within p v h fapp iidedclaims..

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is the following v 1., A rake comprising a wire frame, a wire fabric superposed and coverin said frame, and means of attachin said abric to said frame; the tines ofsai rake being formed as a part of the fabric.

2. A rake comprising a wire frame,Ya

fabric {superposed and covering said frame and consisting of transverse and longitudinal wires, and means of fastening the ends of, said wires to said frame; thesaid lon itndinal'wires having tines formed ,att e free ends thereof; 4

3. A rake comprising a triangular wire frame and ,a body of interwoven wire a fabric superposed and secured, thereto tovform a bracing medium-therefor; the said fabric consisting of transverse and longitudinal wires, the latter wires extending outwardly and-downwardly. from said frame toform the tines of the-rake; i a

. 4.- A rake comprisinga rod bent v'V-shaped andea-pross-rod connected thereto near its outer ends to form a frame, a wire fabric secured to the frame-consisting of longitudinal and transverse wires, and the said longitudinalwires extending under said crossrod" and outwardly therefrom .to form a series'of tines, u i

In testimony whereof'I affix my signature.

WILLIAM WJLAIDLEY. 

